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Profitable from Day One : How a Bootstrapped SaaS Found a Successful Exit
“My key priority was securing a buyer capable of both shaping a long-term strategic vision for DropFunnels and seamlessly transitioning ownership. The team at FE International had already identified the perfect buyer within their extensive network, ensuring a perfect match for the company’s future growth. ”
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Microsoft Ventures Invests in Cerebri, Amazon Acquires PillPack, PayPal Introduces New Checkout Technology: Newsletter June 29, 2018
Microsoft Ventures, now known as M12, this week lead a $5 million Series A round of funding into Cerebri AI, doubling the company’s total funding to $10 million to date. Cerebri’s platform sits atop Microsoft Azure and represents potential future synergies in machine learning for Microsoft, an area the tech giant has shown significant interest in. In addition to announcing the round of funding, Cerebri launched Cerebri Values this week, a product which seeks to quantify a customer’s commitment to a brand or product.
SurveyMonkey Files for IPO, Supreme Court E-Commerce Tax Ruling, Instagram TV Launch: Newsletter June 22, 2018
SurveyMonkey has this week announced that it has confidentially filed for IPO. The survey and customer feedback market leader was previously valued at $2 billion at its last fundraising round in 2014. SurveyMonkey’s decision to file confidentially has granted them the opportunity to gauge investor interest while not having to disclose financial and operational details. Reuters reported in May that SurveyMonkey had hired J.P. Morgan to help lead IPO preparations.
Salesforce Launches B2B Commerce, Microsoft Developing Cashierless Technology, Facebook to Ban Low Quality Stores: Newsletter June 15, 2018
Salesforce has this week announced the launch of B2B Commerce a solution aimed specifically at B2B shoppers. Commerce Cloud, a platform which powers over 2,500 e-commerce stores worldwide, originally only served B2C e-commerce companies. B2B Commerce was developed from Salesforce’s acquisition of CloudCraze in April of this year. The new platform offers increased sophistication in the customer data available to B2B e-commerce retailers, as well as direct access to data from business buyers’ portals for easy account and order management. This move is yet another sign of the e-commerce platform competition heating up, following Adobe’s acquisition of Magento (which has a sophisticated B2B e-commerce platform) last month.
Microsoft Acquires GitHub, Sinks Datacenter off Orkney Coast, DocuSign First Public Earnings Report, Amazon Price Target Raised: Newsletter June 8, 2018
Microsoft has this week confirmed its acquisition of GitHub in a $7.5 billion all stock deal. Valued at $2 billion back in 2015, GitHub is Microsoft’s second-largest acquisition, having acquired LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in 2016. Of the 85 million repositories hosted on and 28 million developers contributing to GitHub, Microsoft is currently GitHub’s top contributor, after discontinuing their GitHub competitor, CodePlex in December of 2017. The deal is expected to close later this year.
Uber’s 2019 IPO, Google Partners with Orange Digital Ventures, Facebook and Google GDPR Complaints: Newsletter June 1, 2018
Uber’s CEO this week revealed that the company is on track for a 2019 IPO. In an interview with CNBC at the 2018 Code Conference, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated that the company’s profile, profitability and margins were in a “good position” to IPO sometime next year. Last week, Uber revealed strong revenue growth of 67% as well as losses down 49% year on year, with an updated tentative valuation of $62 billion. Khosrowshahi also revealed in the interview that Uber’s focus for the foreseeable future is to create a safe riding experience for riders and drivers alike, further mentioning the company’s intentions to expand into all modes of transportation from bicycles to subways.
Adyen IPO, Adobe Acquires Magento and Alibaba Price-Target Raised: Newsletter May 25, 2018
Adyen yesterday confirmed plans first announced in April to file for public listing on the Amsterdam stock market. Adyen has remained profitable since 2011, which sets raising new funds at a low priority for the IPO, instead serving to fuel the company’s continued expansion of new products into new regions. Adyen’s 2017 financials reported net revenues for the fiscal year ending December 2017 at $255.45 million, with total processing volume growing to $126.23 billion from $77.2 billion the previous year and the company remained profitable on an EBITDA basis in 2017 ($116 million) with margins of 45.5%. J.P Morgan and Morgan Stanley are serving as advisors on the deal.
PayPal Acquires iZettle, Pluralsight IPO, Walmart Q1 Earnings, IAB Digital Advertising Report: Newsletter May 18, 2018
PayPal Acquires iZettle, Pluralsight IPO, Walmart Q1 Earnings, IAB Digital Advertising Report: Newsletter May 18, 2018
FE International Launches SaaS Mag, Walmart Invests in Flipkart, Shopify Launches Brick and Mortar Store, Instagram Native Payments Feature: Newsletter May 11, 2018
FE International this week announced the official launch of SaaS Mag, the world’s first quarterly print magazine for the SaaS industry. The first edition, which features exclusive interviews with DocuSign founder Tom Gonser, Drift CEO David Cancel, pricing expert and PriceIntelligently founder/CEO Patrick Campbell, and personalization consultant and RightMessage founder/CEO Brennan Dunn, is free! Visit SaaS Mag.com to request your copy and be entered in our giveaway contest for a chance to win high-value rewards like an all-expenses paid trip to LTVConf Winter 2018, US edition.
Jon & Dave Dickson
“I’m very proud of the entire team at MyShopManager for getting to this milestone and excited to see how they continue to grow in the coming years. FE International was very professional and organized throughout the process and matched us with a suitor that not only met our terms but truly understood what was unique about our business and how our team’s culture set us apart. ”
